IELTS ESSAY SAMPLE QUESTION

Doing an enjoyable activity with a child can develop better skills and more
creativity than reading. To what extent do you agree? Use reasons and specific
examples to explain your answer.

Parents throughout the world place spend time reading with their offspring to prepare them for
school where their literacy skills are further developed; however, recent research suggests that
focusing on reading at an early age can be detrimental, and participating in fun activities would
be far more beneficial. I am a strong advocate of this approach, and the benefits of it will be
covered in this essay.

A fundamental reason for this is that there is no biological age for reading, and pushing infants to
acquire this skill before they are ready could have repercussions. For example, in the UK, many
boys are reluctant readers, possibly because of being forced to read, and this turned them off
reading. By focusing on other activities and developing other skills such as creativity and
imagination, when they are ready to read, they usually acquire this skill rapidly. In addition, the
importance of encouraging creativity and developing a child’s imagination must be
acknowledged. Through play, youngsters develop social and cognitive skills, for example, they
are more likely to learn vocabulary through context rather than learning it from a book.

Furthermore, play allows youngsters to mature emotionally, and gain self-confidence. There is
no scientific research which suggests reading at a young age is essential for a child’s
development, moreover, evidence suggests the reverse is true. In Finland, early years’ education
focuses on playing. Reading is only encouraged if a child shows and interest in developing this
skill. This self-directed approach certainly does not result in Finnish school leavers falling
behind their foreign counterparts. In fact, Finland was ranked the sixth best in the world in terms
of reading.

Despite being a supporter of this non-reading approach, I strongly recommend incorporating

Today, the quality of life in large cities is decreasing. Discuss the causes and
solutions.

The global phenomenon of urbanisation from the beginning of industrialisation to the present
day has brought opportunity and prosperity, al beit at a cost in the quality of life. With an
increasing city population, the complexity of the challenges also increases, the causes and
solutions for this are outlined below.

The causes for the decrease in the quality of life are paradoxically the prosperity endowed on
such metropolitan centres. Their growth is largely due to the increase of opportunities on offer,
which in turn increases their attractiveness, essentially they are trapped in a positive self-
reinforcing cycle. However, this eventually leads to a decrease in the quality of life as the city
can experience overcrowding, exorbitant property prices, and increased vulnerability to terrorist
attacks. For example the density of London makes it a more efficient place to attack, when
compared to a smaller city such as Bradford. Therefore, due to continuous growth and
prosperity, urban citizens, especially the less well off, often experience a lower standard of
living.

Considering the solutions, greater investment in public transport would ease traffic congestion,
as would bike lanes. In theory this would reduce air pollution, and possibly improve the
wellbeing of the population if they did adopt a more active lifestyle and cycle to work. To
counter violent terrorist attacks, cities could embark on CCTV installations, so as to closely
monitor for threats. For example, it is said, the CCTV in London has foiled many potential
attacks, and therefore greatly increased the security of its citizens.

To conclude, a wealthy city attracts a large population inflow, which then causes pressure on
existing infrastructure and security. Various solutions exist to mitigate such drawbacks,
nevertheless an indefinite solution has yet to be found.

 
 IELTS ESSAY SAMPLE QUESTION

Social media marketing can influence what consumers buy. Do you agree or
disagree? To what extent do you agree?

Since the introduction of social media applications in the early 2000’s the world has become a
much smaller place. Social media applications such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have
become information sources for a majority of the global market. As such, I would agree that
marketing, which happens to be a source of information accessible on these platforms can
influence the consumers who use them. This notion is further aided by the rise in online retail
stores who conduct the bulk of their transactions online. This makes it easier for the consumer to
purchase from anywhere in the world.

As a consumer on social media, you are constantly bombarded with advertisements of various
products that are specifically designed to catch your attention. This means that most of the
adverts on your news feeds aren’t random and will almost always feature something you have
previously searched online or something currently popular or trending. Given the fact that most
social media users are young consumers who are influenced by current trends and happenings
these adverts will almost always catch their eye.

The habit of sharing, retweeting and liking also ensures that these adverts get around, quite fast.
As such, when an advert does reach your news feed you have already probably seen it on your
friend’s news feed. The truth is, adverts are a form of information and with the age of the
internet, information spreads faster than a wild fire. Therefore, it only makes sense that in the era
and age of technology, globalization and the need to be trendy, social media marketing can
influence what consumers buy.